In Bram Stoker's Dracula, the main character is omnipresent. For the novel's protagonists, the difficulty of escaping his power and ultimately defeating him is often overwhelming because he is always with them in one way or another. Throughout the novel, there are several demonstrations of Dracula's considerable physical, emotional, and mental control. Additionally, there are constant reminders of Dracula, such as Mina's scar, which allow him to have an effect on his victims even when he is far away. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First of all, Dracula possesses supernatural strength. According to Van Helsing, he has "the strength of twenty men" (Stoker 219), he can change the weather at will and also control animals, including wolves, rats and bats. This power over animals is extensive, as evidenced by the hordes of rats he sends to attack Lord Godalming, Morris, Harker, and Van Helsing (also called the "Crew of Light") (Johnson 77). Conversely, Dracula's more complex powers are less recognizable than his ability to control the weather and animals. These frightening manipulation skills are much more subtle and require the Light crew to invent new forms of protection. The strength of Dracula's more discreet supernatural powers is that they cannot be easily contained or avoided. Stoker effectively depicts the invasive, unsettling, and overpowering qualities of Dracula's presence by having Dracula's mist form play a crucial role in the novel (Johnson 76). The mist disturbs Mina greatly, and understandably so. She says, “I felt the same vague terror that had come to me before, the same feeling of some presence” (Stoker 251). She describes his transformation, “as if he had emerged from the mist, or rather as if the mist had transformed into his silhouette” (Stoker 251). The downside to the mist form is that Dracula can only use it at night. Mist form isn't the only power Dracula has that daylight deactivates. Dracula is also unable to take his bat form in daylight. When he can use the power at night, he can travel much more quietly and quickly. In his bat, mist, and dust forms, his movements are much less restricted. Dracula is most commonly associated with his bat form because his vampire and bat manifestations share certain characteristics, including night vision, sharp teeth, flight, and bloodsucking. Van Helsing describes many of the characteristics that make Dracula such a deadly creature: "He can see in the dark, with great power, in a world half closed to light... He came to the moonlight under form of elemental dust, as once again Jonathan saw these sisters in Dracula's castle... He may also be bat, as Madame Mina saw him at the Whitby window, and as his friend John saw him so near the house, and that my friend Quincy saw him at Miss Lucy's window” (Stoker 211). Additionally, Dracula's dust and mist forms allow him even greater mobility than his bat form, as evidenced by his entry into Lucy's sealed tomb, where he is able to "slide through a space the thickness of a hair. (Driver 211). The fact that, in the form of dust or mist, Dracula can easily access intentionally closed places, such as Lucy's tomb and the Harkers' room, adds to his power and omnipresence. A locked door is supposed to arousea feeling of security, and when this security is violated, the protagonists become even more worried. It tortures both the characters and the captive audience to never know when this monster might slip under a door or through a crack. Allowing Dracula these abilities was genius on Stoker's part as it raised the stakes of the struggle between Dracula and his victims. The protagonists can take any defensive measures they want, but Dracula can always circumvent them. Dracula's deliberately evil tactic is his ability to manipulate the minds of his victims. Dracula takes full advantage of the plasticity of a fearful mind by using the power of suggestion and planting ideas. In one of the book's most gruesome scenes, Jonathan thinks he sees "the reflections of the earl's evil face...the horrible pallor" and Lord Godalming later says: "I thought I saw a face, but they were the only shadows. » (Driver 221). Dracula makes them believe that they were being watched so that they would be afraid and stop looking for the last earthen coffin. His most obvious mental corruption is his control over Renfield, whom Dracula uses as his lackey and spy, despite the considerable distance between them (McWhir 33). Renfield is Dracula's glorified puppet, who pays a high price when he tries to cut his own strings. Dracula is also able to affect the Light Crew's emotions even when he is not with them due to the scar on Mina's forehead. Mina's red scar perpetually reminds all characters of the immediacy of Dracula's threat. The scar is also the outward sign of Mina's internal conflict with Dracula. “I [see] in the mirror the red mark on my forehead, and I [know] that I [am] still unclean” (Stoker 279), she says. Whenever Mina is present, her scar always infuriates the men, as evidenced by what Dr. Seward writes in his journal: "...with the red scar on her forehead, of which she was conscious, and which we saw when she cringed. teeth, remembering where and how it came from” (Stoker 230). Likewise, the scar symbolizes Mina's alienation from Jonathan, Quincy, Van Helsing, and Dr. Seward. She constantly repeats that she is impure, and she hates not only being attacked by Dracula, but also being permanently scarred by it. Physically, this scar makes Mina resemble Dracula. All members of the "Crew of Light" know Dracula's scar: "We all recognized the Count in every way, right down to the scar on his forehead... the red scar on his forehead where Jonathan 'had struck' ( Stoker 247-251). The scar on Mina's forehead, along with her elongated and sharp teeth, pale skin, and red lips show that she resembles Dracula more, especially in this era when appearance was of utmost importance. as a monster would have been truly terrifying to Stoker's readers (perhaps more so than becoming one). Since Mina begins to resemble Dracula, she is a glaring reminder of Dracula's authoritarian omnipresence towards those who attempt to defeat him. The reminder of Dracula's power is his destruction of all evidence of his evil. The journals are the primary documents that help guide the Light's crew and benefit them the most in their hunt. Dracula destroys them with a fire that burns until "all the manuscripts[". were] burned, and the blue flames [flicker] among the white ashes” (Stoker 249). Not only is fire how Dracula destroys evidence, but it's also how Stoker incorporates blue flames from the beginning of the book. When Harker goes to Dracula's castle, he sees blue flames in the countryside and. 2013.